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Predicting
Ovulation
How do I know when
I am ovulating
When you are planning a baby, it
is important to know whether you are going to be ovulating in that cycle,
and if so, when are you ovulating. There are a few ways of determining
ovulation:
(a) Ovulation Predictor kits:
Ovulation predictor kits are the
most convenient method for predicting ovulation. Although slightly
expensive, they offer you that luxury of testing in the privacy of your
home. They simply require you to collect a few drops of urine and test
them on the stick over a period of about 7-10 days of your likely ovulation
time. The day the stick changes color to a shade darker than the
previous days, you are likely to ovulate within the next 48 hours.
If you have run out of all the sticks in the pack without detecting a color
change, you may have to buy another test kit and continue testing. It could
mean that either you have not yet ovulated, or that you may not be ovulating
in this cycle.
(b) Basal Body Temperature (BBT):
This method requires the woman to
keep a chart of her daily temperature readings. The temperature needs
to be taken from the woman’s anus first thing in the morning while she
is still in bed. It can be recorded using either special test kits
available in the market, or a regular thermometer. The basis for
this method is that a woman’s basal body temperature drops briefly and
then rises half a degree following ovulation, and remains elevated until
the start of the next period. Normal BBT is between 96 and 98 degrees,
and after ovulation rises to 97 to 98 degrees. A rise in temperature
that persists for at least 3 days indicates that ovulation has occurred.
(c) Mucus method:
Another method that is more recent
depends on the analysis of the vaginal mucus. A few days before, also called
the ‘dry’ period, there is very little mucus in the vagina. When there
is white vaginal discharge in the vagina, it indicates the beginning of
the ‘wet’ period. At the time of ovulation, the mucus becomes clear,
sticky and stringy in nature, and can sometimes stretch to over a couple
of inches between your two fingers.
(d) Ultrasound Scan:
Another way of determining your
ovulation is through an ultrasound scan. An ultrasound scan is also
usually used when it is critical for fertilization to take place at the
precise time of ovulation, such as for artificial insemination. This
method of predicting ovulation, although very reliable, is quite expensive.
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